THE JOURNAL & TOPICS NEWSPAPERS | WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 2006
Detail Summit Settlement
By DWIGHT ESAU
Journal Reporter
Settlement of the Summit Square lawsuit against the city cost taxpayers $200,000, plus legal fees, which are likely to be considerably more than that.
This was the word this week from City Mgr. Tim Schuenke, describing for the Journal details of the settlement agreement. It ends a lawsuit process that began last November, and culminates close to six weeks of negotiations among lawyers for the city; PRC Partners, the Uptown redevelopment team; and Summit Square Retirement Home.
According to Schuenke, Summit Square's complaint was all about its main entrance on the east side of its building, near the intersection of Summit and Touhy Avenues. The Home claimed the Uptown plan didn't provide enough safety for its residents and would create traffic problems near the home's entrance.
The agreement calls for the city and PRC to share in the $450,000 cost to build a circular driveway from the north end of the Summit Square building, along the west side of Summit Avenue, to the entrance at the south end. This will allow safer drop-off and pickup of residents by guests or family members, and also provide improved access to the home by emergency vehicles.
Ironically, such an improvement was included in discussions the city had with Summit earlier last year, as part of an aborted facade improvement for the home.
The city will pay $200,000 of the cost, and PRC $250,000, Schuenke said.
This settlement allows Phase III of the Uptown redevelopment project to move forward after a few months of delay. This phase is located on the site of the former city water reservoir.
Sale of this city-owned land to PRC for about $9 million-plus will not close until May, however, Schuenke said, to allow Mid America Management time to sell at least 50 percent of the condos to be located in the Phase III area, as required by the redevelopment agreement for Uptown.
As soon as closing takes place, construction can begin on several retail-condo buildings on this site, plus a new parking facility.
Meanwhile, construction continues on Phases I (residential) and II (condo-retail) of the redevelopment.